AS Monaco moved up to second place in Ligue 1 after winning 2-0 at Lorient on Sunday, with both goals coming in an improved second-half performance.
Promising midfielder Thomas Lemar put Monaco ahead with a shot that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar in the 54th minute, before Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho curled in an excellent free-kick four minutes later.
“It was a tough game against a good passing side,” Monaco centerback Andrea Raggi said.
Photo: AFP
Lorient played better in the first half, but striker Benjamin Jeannot failed to muster a shot on target.
“I don’t know how we lost this game, they created absolutely nothing in the first half,” Lorient defender Francois Bellugou said. “Once they scored early in the second half we were all a bit stunned.”
Monaco are two points ahead of third-placed Angers SCO, but trail runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain by a massive 21 points.
AS Saint-Etienne climbed to fifth with a hard-fought 1-0 win against bitter local rivals Olympique Lyonnais, with Norway striker Alexander Toft Soderlund scoring on his home debut for the club in the 76th minute.
No away fans were allowed at the stadium due to the fierce hostility between the clubs’ supporters, and some Saint-Etienne fans threw objects at Lyon’s bus as it pulled into the stadium.
Lyon midfielder Rachid Ghezzal hit the crossbar midway through the second half and then forced goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier into a smart save as Lyon kept the pressure on, but against the run of play, Soderlund latched onto a pass through the middle from fellow forward Kevin Monnet-Paquet and clipped the ball over goalkeeper Anthony Lopes as he rushed off his line.
“It didn’t come down to much, they had two chances and scored,” Lyon captain Maxime Gonalons said. “We really had no luck.”
Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier agreed that Lyon were the better side.
“If we had to win one game then it’s this one. It’s our 100th derby in the first division, so it will be remembered, although the way we played won’t,” Galtier said. “We would have been satisfied with a draw because they played better than us.”
The defeat leaves Lyon in ninth, one spot behind Olympique de Marseille, who earlier secured a much-needed 3-1 win away to Normandy side Stade Malherbe Caen.
Marseille had drawn their previous four league matches and also lost 2-1 at Toulouse last week in the Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals, but Spanish coach Michel’s team got off to a good start when Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi put the visitors ahead in the 12th minute, finishing from close range after good work by midfielder Abdelaziz Barrada.
“It had been a while since I scored, but the main thing is that we won [because] Marseille have not been in form recently,” Batshuayi said. “We spoke about it among ourselves, and decided that we needed to stick together and play for each other more.”
Having grabbed his 12th league goal of the season, Batshuayi missed a great chance to make it 2-0 in the 28th minute when he volleyed wide from Bouna Sarr’s cross.
Batshuayi then turned provider in the 60th minute, latching onto a pass from midfielder Barrada and setting up winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou.
However, Marseille’s defense fell asleep moments later and Ronny Rodelin was left unmarked to head in Julien Feret’s free-kick.
Marseille rallied and, after Nkoudou and Sarr both missed chances, Sarr wrapped up the win in the 83rd minute when he volleyed in a cross from midfielder Alaixys Romao.
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